Information processing system, information processing method, and information processing program

ABSTRACT

An information processing system serves to input a timer record setting of a content. The system includes a dividing unit that divides a first timer record setting to record the content delivered from a predetermined source for a predetermined period into a plurality of second timer record settings each designed to record the content corresponding thereto, which is expected to be delivered for the predetermined period; a change unit that determines whether the content corresponding to each of the second timer record settings satisfies a predetermined condition, and changes a predetermined setting of the second timer record setting to record the corresponding content which has been determined to satisfy the predetermined condition using a change process preliminarily correlated with the predetermined condition; and an input unit that inputs the second timer record settings to record the corresponding contents, respectively, including the second timer record setting having the changed predetermined setting.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/393,537, filed on Mar. 30, 2006, which claims priority from JapanesePatent Application No. JP 2005-096995 filed on Mar. 30, 2005, thedisclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an information processing system, aninformation processing method, and an information processing program.More particularly, the invention relates to the information processingsystem, method, and program thereof for improving a freedom degree ofvarious types of setting, for example, selection between recording andnot recording of the content, the timing for erasing the recordedcontent.

Recently a recording/reproducing device capable of recording andreproducing broadcast programs (formed of video and audio signals), forexample, a hard disk video recorder has been in widespread use. Thememory size of the recording medium that serves to record such program,for example, a hard disk has been considerably increased.

The recording/reproducing device with increased memory size as describedabove is capable of recording a larger number of broadcast programs thanbefore. The user is allowed to record as many programs as possible, andto select the required program among those recorded.

Although the memory size of the recording medium like the hard disk maybe increased as aforementioned, such capacity is still limited.Therefore it is difficult for the hard disk to record the programsunlimitedly. In the case where the user has already recorded apredetermined or larger number of programs in the way as describedabove, the residual memory size becomes too small to record additionalprograms unless an appropriate number of the programs that have beenalready recorded are erased. The method of erasing the broadcastprograms is disclosed in such publications as JP-A-2001-257986,JP-A-2002-314911, JP-A-2004-304835, JP-A-2004-172682, andJP-A-2004-86288.

The technologies that have been disclosed in the above-describedpublications fail to comply with the demand of the user as describedbelow.

Specifically, it is difficult for the above-identified technologiesdisclosed in the above-described publications to cope with the demand ofthe user to improve the freedom degree of various settings, for example,selection between recording and not recording of the broadcast program,and setting of the timing for erasing the recorded program. They mayfail to meet the demand not to record the broadcast program that doesnot comply with the user's preference, and to change the timing forerasing the program in accordance with the degree of the user'spreference, and further, the demand to store the broadcast program withthe higher preference of the user in the recording medium for a longerperiod, and to erase such program as news at an earlier timing comparedwith other programs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an embodiment of the invention, the degree of freedom inperforming various settings may be improved with respect to selectionbetween recording and not recording of the program, the timing forerasing the recorded program and the like.

According to an embodiment of the invention, there is provided aninformation processing system which serves to input a timer recordsetting of a content. The information processing system includes adividing unit that divides a first timer record setting to record thecontent delivered from a predetermined source for a predetermined periodinto a plurality of second timer record settings each designed to recordthe content corresponding thereto, which is expected to be delivered forthe predetermined period; a change unit that determines whether thecontent corresponding to each of the second timer record settingssatisfies a predetermined condition, and changes a predetermined settingof the second timer record setting to record the corresponding contentwhich has been determined to satisfy the predetermined condition using achange process preliminarily correlated with the predeterminedcondition; and an input unit that inputs the second timer recordsettings to record the corresponding contents, respectively, includingthe second timer record setting having the changed predeterminedsetting.

According to the embodiment of the invention, a plurality of thepredetermined conditions are provided to which corresponding priorityorders are assigned, respectively. In the system, the change unitdetermines whether the content corresponding to each of the second timerrecord settings satisfies at least one of the plurality of predeterminedconditions, and changes the predetermined setting of the contentcorresponding to the second timer record setting which has beendetermined to satisfy the at least one of the predetermined conditionsusing a change process preliminarily correlated with the conditionassigned with the highest priority order among the at least one of thepredetermined conditions determined to be satisfied.

According to the embodiment of the invention, the change processpreliminarily correlated with the predetermined condition assigned withthe predetermined priority order among the plurality of thepredetermined conditions is used to change a first setting for recordingthe content that satisfies the predetermined condition assigned with thepredetermined priority order to a second setting for inhibiting therecording thereof. In the embodiment, the input unit inhibits an inputof the second timer record setting having the setting changed to thesecond setting through the change unit among the plurality of secondtimer record settings for recording the corresponding contents.

In the embodiment, there is provided a set unit which sets at least oneof the plurality of predetermined conditions, the priority ordersrespectively assigned to the plurality of predetermined conditions, andthe change process correlated with the plurality of predeterminedconditions upon a command of a user.

According to an embodiment of the invention, there is provided aninformation processing method of an information processing system forinputting a timer record setting of a content. The method includesdividing a first timer record setting to record the content deliveredfrom a predetermined source for a predetermined period into a pluralityof second timer record settings each designed to record the contentcorresponding thereto, which is expected to be delivered for thepredetermined period; determining whether the content corresponding toeach of the second timer record settings satisfies a predeterminedcondition, and changing a predetermined setting of the second timerrecord setting to record the corresponding content which has beendetermined to satisfy the predetermined condition using a change processpreliminarily correlated with the predetermined condition; and inputtingthe second timer record settings to record the corresponding contents,respectively, including the second timer record setting having thechanged predetermined setting.

The program according to the invention corresponds to the informationprocessing method of the invention as described above.

In the information processing system, information processing method, andinformation processing program, a first timer record setting to recordthe content delivered from a predetermined source for a predeterminedperiod is divided into a plurality of second timer record settings eachdesigned to record the content corresponding thereto, which is expectedto be delivered for the predetermined period. It is determined whetherthe content corresponding to each of the second timer record settingssatisfies a predetermined condition, to change a predetermined settingof the second timer record setting to record the corresponding contentwhich has been determined to satisfy the predetermined condition using achange process preliminarily correlated with the predeterminedcondition. The second timer record settings to record the correspondingcontents, respectively, including the second timer record setting havingthe changed predetermined setting, are input.

The device for recording the content may be formed as the informationprocessing unit according to the invention, or another device. The unitthat receives the input of the second timer record setting by eachcontent may be formed as the information processing unit according tothe invention, or another device. The unit for recording the contentdoes not have to correspond to the unit that receives the input of thesecond timer record setting by each content.

The embodiment of the invention allows the timer record setting of thecontent to be input. Specifically, the degree of freedom in varioussettings, including selection between recording and not recording of thecontent and the timing for erasing the recorded content, may be improvedby appropriately changing settings of the timer record setting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail basedon the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram that represents an exemplary hardwarestructure of a content recording/reproducing device to which theinvention is applied;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that represents an exemplary hardwarestructure of a main control unit of the content recording/reproducingdevice;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram that represents an exemplary hardwarestructure of a content recording unit of the contentrecording/reproducing device;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that represents an exemplary functionalstructure of the content recording/reproducing device;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary block diagram that represents a functionalstructure of a timer record setting input unit shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view of an exemplary display of a serial timer recordsetting for inputting the serial timer record setting performed by theserial timer record setting input unit;

FIG. 7 is a view of an exemplary display for setting the timer setproperty change information used for the process executed by the settingunit shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a view of an exemplary display for setting the timer setproperty change information used for the process executed by the settingunit shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart that represents a “division timer record settinginput process” executed by the content recording/reproducing deviceshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a view that represents an example of a correlation betweenbroadcast programs contained in the serial timer record setting to bedivided under the division timer record setting input process and theprogram information concerning therewith;

FIG. 11 is a chart that represents an example of the result of the“division timer record setting input process” shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a chart that represents an example of the result of the“division timer record setting input process” shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is a chart that represents an example of the result of the“division timer record setting input process” shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 14 is a chart that represents an example of the result of the“division timer record setting input process” shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 15 is a chart that represents an example of the result of the“division timer record setting input process” shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 16 is an exemplary display image that shows apart of the previousprogram schedule used in the process executed by the previous programschedule management portion shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 17 is a block diagram that represents an exemplary structure of theinformation processing system to which the invention is applied(different from the one shown in FIG. 1).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An embodiment of the invention will be described referring to thedrawings.

FIG. 1 represents an exemplary hardware structure of a contentrecording/reproducing device as an information processing device towhich the invention is applied.

Referring to FIG. 1, a content recording/reproducing device 1 is formedby interconnecting a main control unit 11, and each of content recordingunits 13A, 13B via a network 12.

The network 12 may take an arbitrary form such as Ethernet™. The use ofthe network 12 may be omitted so as to allow direct communicationbetween the main control unit 11 and the content recording units 13A,13B without the network 12.

Hereinafter, the content recording units 13A and 13B will be referred toas a content recording unit 13 when those units do not have to bedistinguished.

Referring to the exemplary structure shown in FIG. 1, the contentrecording/reproducing device 1 includes two content recording units 13provided therefor. However, the number of the content recording units 13is not limited to the value as shown in FIG. 1 but may be set to thearbitrary number. Likewise, the number of the main control unit 11 mayalso be set to the arbitrary value.

The detailed hardware structures of the main control unit 11 and thecontent recording unit 13 will be shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively.Each of the hardware structure of the main control unit 11 and thecontent recording unit 13 will be explained referring to FIGS. 2 and 3,respectively.

Referring to FIG. 2, a CPU 21 of the main control unit 11 executesvarious types of processing in accordance with the program stored in aROM 22 or the program loaded to a RAM 23 from a memory unit 28. The RAM23 also stores data required for the CPU 21 to execute various types ofprocessing.

The CPU 21, the ROM 22, and the RAM 23 are interconnected via a bus 24connected to an I/O interface 25.

The I/O interface 25 is connected to an input unit 26 including akeyboard, a mouse, a remote controller (with a light receiving portion)and the like, an output unit 27 including a speaker, and a display, amemory unit 28 including a hard disk, and a communication unit 29 thatcontrols communication with other blocks (content recording units 13Aand 13B) via a network 12. The communication unit 29 is connectable toother type of a network (not shown in FIG. 2) different from the network12 (for example, a network 304 shown in FIG. 17 to be described later).

A drive 30 is connected to the I/O interface 25 if needed, which has aremovable recording medium 31 including an electromagnetic disk, anoptical disk, a magnetoptic disk, a semiconductor memory or the likemounted thereon such that the computer program that has been readtherefrom is installed in the memory unit 28 if needed.

The hardware structure of the main control unit 11 is not limited to theexample shown in FIG. 2, but may be arbitrarily formed so long as atleast the functional structure as shown in FIG. 4 (described later) isprovided.

An exemplary hardware structure of the content recording unit 13 will bedescribed referring to FIG. 3.

A CPU 41 of the content recording unit 13 executes various types ofprocessing in accordance with the program stored in a ROM 42.Alternatively the CPU 41 receives the program transmitted from the maincontrol unit 11 shown in FIG. 1 via the network 12 so as to be loaded toa RAM 43 via a network communication control unit 48 and a bus 47. TheCPU 41 executes various types of processing in accordance with theloaded program. The RAM 43 stores data required for the CPU 41 toexecute the various types of processing.

The CPU 41, ROM 42 and RAM 43 are interconnected via a bus 44 connectedto a content acquisition unit 45 and a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 46.

The content acquisition unit 45 is structured to receive (acquire) aplurality of broadcast programs (contents) delivered from thecorresponding broadcast stations in the same time slot simultaneously.Specifically, referring to FIG. 3, the content acquisition unit 45 isstructured to receive three programs delivered from the correspondingthree stations simultaneously. That is, the content acquisition unit 45is provided with three tuners 51-1, 51-2, and 51-3, three A/D (Analog toDigital) converters 52-1, 52-2, and 52-3, and three encoders 53-1, 53-2,and 53-3, respectively.

The three tuners 51-1 to 51-3 will be referred to as a tuner 51 whenthey do not have to be distinguished. Likewise, the three A/D converters52-1 to 52-3 will be referred to as an A/D converter 52 when they do nothave to be distinguished. Also three encoders 53-1 to 53-3 will bereferred to as an encoder 53 when they do not have to be distinguished.

The tuner 51 demodulates the terrestrial or satellite airwave for TVbroadcasting, which has been received by an antenna (not shown) suchthat the resultant video and audio signals are supplied to the A/Dconverter 52.

When the airwave of the channel designated by the CPU 41 (correctly, thechannel designated by a recording management unit 71A or 71B shown inFIG. 4 to be described later), that is, the radio wave that constitutesthe program delivered from the broadcast station to which the channel isassigned is received by the antenna, the tuner 51 demodulates thereceived radio wave, and supplies the resultant analog video and audiosignals to the A/D converter 52.

The broadcast program is delivered from the broadcast station. This willbe represented by the expression that the broadcast program isbroadcasted from the channel assigned to the broadcast station, forexample, such expression as “the broadcast program delivered from thechannel A” for the explanatory purposes.

The A/D converter 52 executes an A/D conversion with respect to theanalog video and audio signals supplied from the tuner 51, and suppliesthe resultant digital video and audio signals to the encoder 53. Thedigital signals output from the A/D converter 52, that is, digital videoand audio signals that constitute a predetermined broadcast program willbe referred to as content data hereinafter.

The encoder 53 encodes (performs compression encoding) the content datasupplied from the A/D converter 52 using, for example, MPEG (MovingPicture Experts Group) mode so as to be supplied into the recordingcontrol unit 54. The encoded content data output from the encoder 53will be referred to as compressed content data hereinafter.

The recording control unit 54 stores respective compressed content datasupplied from the encoders 53-1 to 53-3 in the form of files in the HDD46.

The HDD 46 stores files that contain the compressed content data. Theoperation of “the HDD 46 that serves to store the compressed contentdata” will be represented by the expression that “the broadcast programcorresponding to the compressed content data will be recorded”. When thebroadcast program does not have to be distinguished from the contentdata and the compressed content data that constitute the broadcastprogram, it may be simply represented as the broadcast program.

The HDD 46 does not always store the broadcast program one by one, butrecords the content of a predetermined channel specified by a singletimer record setting. The content contains at least one broadcastprogram. More specifically, the HDD 46 does not always the entireprogram but only a part thereof. A single file recorded in the HDD 46may contain one program delivered from a predetermined channel, or twoor more programs delivered therefrom.

The above-described file will be referred to as a video capsule. Thatis, the video capsule includes at least a part (compressed content data)of one program or more, respectively.

The HDD 46 stores program information data (metadata) of the recordedprogram.

In the embodiment, the program information data stored in the HDD 46 aresupplied from other server (not shown) connected to the network 12. Thatis, in the embodiment, the CPU 41 appropriately acquires the programinformation data of the respective programs via the network 12 and thenetwork communication control unit 48, and stores such information datato the HDD 46.

The process of acquiring the program information data may have anarbitrary form without being limited to the embodiment of the invention.For example, the process of extracting the program information data inthe vertical blanking period of the received terrestrial TV broadcastsignal, or extracting the program information data from the receivedsatellite TV broadcast signal may be employed.

The CPU 41 is connected to a bus 47 which is connected to a networkcommunication control unit 48. The network communication control unit 48executes the control of communication with other blocks (main controlunit 11 and the like shown in FIG. 1) via the network 12.

The hardware structure of the content storage unit 13 is not limited tothe example shown in FIG. 3, but may have an arbitrary form so long asat least the functional structure shown in FIG. 4 is provided.

It the case where the explanation below requires the content recordingunits 13A and 13B to be distinguished again, an alphabet “A” will beattached to the respective ends of reference codes of the CPU 41 to thenetwork communication control unit 48 provided for the content recordingunit 13A, that is, the CPU 41A to the network communication control unit48A, respectively. Likewise, an alphabet “B” will be attached to therespective ends of reference codes of the CPU41 to the networkcommunication control unit 48 provided for the content recording unit13B, that is, the CPU41B to the network communication control unit 48B,respectively.

In the example as described above, six tuners are mounted on the contentrecording/reproducing device 1, that is, three tuners 51-1A to 51-3A forthe content recording unit 13A, and three tuners 51-1B to 51-3B for thecontent recording unit 13B (shown in the drawing). However, an arbitrarynumber of the tuner may be set without being limited to the example asdescribed above. The position at which the tuner is mounted is notlimited, and an arbitrary number of tuners may be mounted in the maincontrol unit 11.

The example of the hardware structure of the contentrecording/reproducing device 1 to which the invention is applied hasbeen explained referring to FIGS. 1 to 3.

The functional structure of the above-structured contentrecording/reproducing device 1 will be described referring to FIG. 4representative of the exemplary functional structure of the contentrecording/reproducing device 1.

In the embodiment of the invention, as the main control unit 11 has thehardware structure shown in FIG. 2, each of units including informationpresentation integration control unit 61 to a previous program listmanagement unit 65 except a timer set property change informationstorage unit 63 is structured as application software executed by theCPU 21 shown in FIG. 2. Each of those units has different hardwarestructure from that of the main control unit 11 such that each of theaforementioned units 61 to 65 except the unit 63 may be structured as asingle unit of hardware, or as a combination of software and hardware.The timer set property change information storage unit 63 is structuredto occupy an area of the memory unit 28 shown in FIG. 2. However, it maybe structured to occupy an area of the respective memories (not shown).

In the embodiment, as each of the content recording units 13A and 13Bhas the hardware structure shown in FIG. 3 in the same manner asdescribed above, the recording management units 71A and 71B, andcontent/metadata supply units 72A and 72B are structured as theapplication software executed by the CPU 41 as shown in FIG. 3. Thehardware structure of the content recording unit 13A is different fromthat of the content recording unit 13B such that each pair of therecording management units 71A and the content/metadata supply units72A, and those of 71B and 72B is structured as the single unit ofhardware, or as the combination of software and hardware.

In the main control unit 11 shown in FIG. 4, the informationpresentation integration control unit 61 executes the control to subjectvarious information data supplied from a timer record setting input unit62, a setting unit 64, or the previous program list management unit 65to a required processing so as to be output from the output unit 27.

More specifically, in the case where image data corresponding to one ofimages shown in FIGS. 6, 7, 8 and 16 (to be described later in detail)are supplied from the timer record setting input unit 62, the settingunit 64, or the previous program list management unit 65 to theinformation presentation integration control unit 61, the informationpresentation integration control unit 61 subjects the supplied imagedata to the required image processing, and further A/D conversion so asto supply the resultant analog image signals to the output unit 27. Theoutput unit 27 then displays the image corresponding to the image signalsupplied from the information presentation integration control unit 61,for example, one of the images shown in FIGS. 6, 7, 8, and 16.

In the case where a predetermined video capsule is supplied from thecontent recording unit 13A or 13B to the information presentationintegration control unit 61 via the previous program list managementunit 65, the information presentation integration control unit 61decodes the compressed content data contained in the supplied videocapsule at the MPEG mode, and supplies the resultant video and audiosignals to the output unit 27. The output unit 27 then displays theimage (motion image) corresponding to the supplied vide signal (motionimage signal), and outputs sounds corresponding to the supplied audiosignal. The output unit 27 serves to reproduce the broadcast programcontained in the video capsule as the compressed content data.

The information presentation integration control unit 61 executes theprocess in response to an input of various commands from the input unit26 (for example, the command for varying the output audio volume,reproducing the program, pausing, stopping, fast-forwarding and thelike).

The timer record setting input unit 62 sets the timer record based onthe information input from the input unit 26, that is, the contentcommanded by the user so as to inform the recording management unit 71Aor 71B of the content recording unit 13A or 13B.

It is to be noted that the information data input from the input unit 26include such data as “day of the week”, “channel”, “starting time”, and“finish time”, and the timer record setting input unit 62 sets the timerrecord based on the aforementioned information data. That is, thecontent of the timer record set by the timer record setting input unit62 contains the information that “the program delivered from the channelrequired by the user is recorded in the time slot required by the user(during the time period between the starting time and the finish timeset by the user on the day of every week set by the user).

The timer record set by the timer record setting input unit 62 asdescribed above, in other words, the timer record set based on theinformation data including “day of the week”, “channel”, “startingtime”, and “finish time” will be referred to as “serial timer recordsetting”.

The process executed by the timer record setting input unit 62 forinforming the recording management unit 71A or 71B of the content of theset timer record (not only the serial timer record setting but also thetimer record setting of the program divided from the serial timer recordsetting to be described later) will be referred to as “timer recordsetting input process” hereinafter. More correctly, the timer recordsetting input process includes holding of the content of the timerrecord setting that has been informed to the recording management unit71A or 71B performed thereby in addition to the informing processexecuted by the timer record setting input unit 62.

The timer record setting input unit 62 sets the serial timer recordsetting so as to be input based on the information including the “day ofthe week”, “channel”, “starting time” and “finish time” set through theuser's operation of the input unit 26.

It is further to be noted that the user is allowed to perform the serialtimer record setting easily using the image for GUI (hereinafterreferred to as the serial timer record image). The example of the serialtimer record setting will be described referring to FIG. 6.

The timer record setting input unit 62 is capable of executing theprocess of dividing the input serial timer record setting into timerrecord settings of the programs, respectively (hereinafter referred toas the division timer record setting input process), respectively.

The timer record setting input unit 62 is capable of setting andinputting of the serial timer record setting (hereinafter referred to asa serial timer record setting input process), and the division timerrecord setting input process, respectively. In the embodiment, as shownin FIG. 5, the timer record setting input unit 62 is provided with aserial timer record setting input unit 81 for inputting the serial timerrecord setting, and a division timer record setting input unit 82 forinputting the division timer record setting. In other words, FIG. 5represents a functional block diagram that shows a functional structureof the timer record setting input unit 62 in detail.

In the embodiment, the content recording unit 13A or 13B shown in FIG. 4is designed to receive the input of the timer record setting. FIG. 5shows the content recording unit 13 that receives the input of the timerrecord setting. In the example shown in FIG. 5, each code “A” or “B” ofthe recording management unit 71A or 71B, and the content/metadatasupply unit 72A or 72B is omitted to show only the recording managementunit 71 and the content/metadata supply unit 72, respectively.

The division timer record setting input unit 82 shown in FIG. 5 isformed of a program timer record setting division unit 91, a timer setproperty change unit 92, and a timer record setting input unit 93,respectively.

The program timer record setting division unit 91 automatically acquiresthe program information data delivered from the respective programs fromthe content/metadata supply unit 72 at a predetermined timing, andacquires the serial timer record setting of the program to be dividedfrom the recording management unit 71. Based on the program informationdata, the serial timer record setting to be divided is automaticallydivided into timer record settings of the respective programs. Each ofthe timer record settings by the program will be supplied from theprogram timer record setting division portion 91 to the timer setproperty change unit 92.

The expression “automatically” represents that the block (unit) such asthe timer record setting input unit 62 executes a predetermined processbased on its own determination without using the input from outside ofthe input unit 26, that is, without the user's operation.

The timer set property change unit 92 determines whether each of thetimer record setting of the respective programs satisfies apredetermined condition. If there is the timer record setting of theprogram determined as satisfying the predetermined condition, apredetermined timer set property (predetermined setting) will be changedthrough the change process preliminarily correlated to the predeterminedcondition. The timer set property change unit 92 refers the timer setproperty change information data stored in the timer set property changeinformation storage unit 63. The timer set property change unit 92supplies the respective timer record settings of the respective programsto the timer record setting input unit 93 irrespective of thepresence/absence of the change in the timer set properties.

Explanations with respect to the timer set property, the change thereof,and the timer set property information will be described in detailreferring to FIG. 7.

A timer record setting input unit 93 automatically inputs the timerrecord setting by the program supplied from the timer set propertychange unit 92 to the recording management unit 71. Incidentally, aswill be described below, when the input of the timer record setting ofthe program is inhibited as a result of changing a predetermined timerset property by the timer set property change unit 92, to cite a case,the “effective term” is changed to “0” (as described below in anembodiment of the invention), the inhibited timer record setting mightbe supplied therefrom to the timer record setting input unit 93. In sucha case, the timer record setting input unit 93 will not input the timerrecord setting of the program, that is, inhibits the input of the timerrecord setting of the program.

The division timer record setting input unit 82 will be described usingthe specific example. It may be the case that the serial timer recordsetting has been input to record the “program delivered from the channelA in the time slot between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. on every Tuesday”, and afirst program is delivered from the channel A in the time slot between 8a.m. and 11 a.m. on the next Tuesday, and a second program is deliveredin the time slot between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. That is, each programinformation data of the first and the second programs containsinformation that specifies the content of the program expected to be onthe air.

It may also be the case where a first condition for changing the “recordmode” as one of the timer set properties to “long (2.5 M)” isestablished, and a second condition for changing the “effective term” asone of the timer set properties to “0” is established. The “record mode”represents the mode for setting the image quality and sound quality, andthe “effective term” herein represents the length of time for which therecorded program is kept stored in the HDD 46. When the effective termexpires, the recorded program is automatically erased. The detailedexplanation of the automatic erasure will be described in detail later.The effective term set at 0 represents that the timer record setting isnot input. This represents inhibition of recording the content of thesubject timer record setting (program on the air) to the HDD 46. As willbe described later, the first and the second conditions, and the contentof the changed timer set property obtained when the first or the secondcondition is established are preliminarily stored in the timer setproperty change information storage unit 63 as the timer set propertychange information data.

In the above-described case, the program timer record setting divisionunit 91 automatically acquires the program information data of the firstand the second program information data from the content/metadata supplyunit 72 at a predetermined timing before 8 a.m. on the next Tuesday.Upon acquiring the program information, the timer record setting inputunit 62 automatically divides the serial timer record setting to bedivided into the first and second timer record settings, respectively.

The timer set property change unit 92 changes the “record mode” to “long(2.5M)” with respect to the timer record setting of the first programbased on the timer set property change information stored in the timerset property change information storage unit 63, and changes the“effective term” to “zero” with respect to the timer record setting ofthe second program based on the timer set property change informationstored in the timer set property change information storage unit 63.

The timer record setting input unit 93 inputs the timer record settingof the first program which includes the set information for recordingthe program at the “long (2.5M)” mode to the recording management unit71.

The timer record setting of the second program is not input by the timerrecord setting input unit 93 as the “effective term” has been changed to“0”. Adding information about this will be described below. The timerrecord setting of the program that satisfies the second condition forchanging the “effective term” to “0” is not input. Accordingly theprogram is not recorded in the HDD 46, resulting in the efficient use ofthe limited memory space of the HDD 46.

The timing for inputting the timer record setting of the first programmay be the same as that of the second program, or may be differenttherefrom. As one example of the different timing, the timer recordsetting of the second program may be input subsequent to the input ofthe timer record setting of the first program which is expected to be onthe air earlier.

The process of inputting the division timer record setting executed bythe division timer record setting input unit 82 will be described inmore detail referring to FIGS. 9 to 15.

Referring back to FIG. 4, as described above, the timer set propertychange information storage unit 63 stores at least one piece of thetimer set property change information data. The timer set propertychange information is defined as the one for changing a predeterminedtimer set property using a predetermined change process uponestablishment of a predetermined condition. The timer set propertychange information data are set by the setting unit 64. That is, thesetting unit 64 sets (generates) the timer set property changeinformation so as to be stored in the timer set property changeinformation storage unit 63 based on the predetermined condition or thetimer set property to be changed by the user's operation of the inputunit 26.

It is to be noted that the user is allowed to set the timer set propertychange information easily using the image for GUI (hereinafter referredto as the image for setting the timer set property change information).The example of the image for setting the timer set property changeinformation will be described later in more detail referring to FIGS. 7and 8.

The previous program list management unit 65 acquires the programinformation (metadata) of the program currently recorded in the HDD 46Aor 46B (hereinafter referred to as the recorded program) via thecontent/metadata supply unit 72A or 72B.

Based on various types of the acquired program information data, theprevious program list management unit 65 generates the table having therespective program to be recorded (correctly, the section that shows therecorded program which will be referred to as the program listing)arranged in the order of the broadcasting time schedule by thecorresponding channel in the form of the image data so as to be suppliedto the information presentation integration control unit 61. Theaforementioned table is referred to as the previous program schedule.The example of the previous program schedule will be described in detailreferring to FIG. 16.

Upon receipt of the image data of the previous program schedule, theinformation presentation integration control unit 61 allows the imagecorresponding to the image data, that is, the previous program scheduleas shown in FIG. 16 to be displayed on the output unit 27.

The user is able to easily locate the required program to be recorded bylooking through the previous program schedule displayed on the outputunit 27.

Further the user is allowed to select and reproduce the recordedprogram. That is, the user is capable of operating to select andreproduce a predetermined recorded program using the input unit 26.

The aforementioned operation of the user supplies the command forreproducing the recorded program to the previous program list managementunit 65 from the input unit 26. Then the previous program listmanagement unit 65 acquires the recorded program, which is designated bythe reproducing command (the video capsule that contains the program)from the HDD 46A or 46B via the content/metadata supply unit 72A or 72Bso as to be supplied to the information presentation integration controlunit 61.

The information presentation integration control unit 61 decodes therecorded program contained in the video capsule (compressed contentdata) using the MPEG mode, and supplies the resultant video and audiosignals to the output unit 27. The output unit 27 displays the videoimage (motion image) corresponding to the supplied video signal andoutputs sound corresponding to the supplied audio signal. In otherwords, the output unit 27 reproduces the recorded program, which hasbeen selected by the user.

An example of the functional structure of the main control unit 11 hasbeen described referring to FIG. 4.

An example of the functional structure of the content recording unit 13Aor 13B will be explained referring to FIG. 4. In the example shown inFIG. 4, the content recording unit 13A has basically the same functionalstructure as that of the content recording unit 13B. There is, thus, noneed of distinguishing the content recording unit 13A from 13B, and thefunctional structure will be described with respect to the contentrecording unit 13 hereinafter by omitting the code “A” or “B” attachedto each end of the reference codes of the respective blocks shown inFIG. 4.

The recording management unit 71 inputs the timer record setting (a partof the process) as described above. That is, the recording managementunit 71 holds the content of the timer record setting informed from thetimer record setting input unit 62. As described above, the timer recordsetting informed (input) from the timer record setting input unit 62includes not only the serial timer record setting but also the timerrecord setting by the program, which has been divided therefrom.

The recording management unit 71 executes the control for recording theprogram to the HDD 46 in accordance with the content of the input (held)timer record setting. That is, the recording management unit 71 allowsthe content acquisition unit 45 to acquire the program content deliveredfrom the channel designated by the timer record setting in the time slotdesignated by the input timer record setting (the starting time, finishtime, and the time slot specified by the day of the week if needed,which are contained in the content of the timer record setting) suchthat the resultant video capsule is stored in the HDD 46.

The video capsule that includes the content of the program deliveredfrom the designated channel in the designated time slot by the timerrecord setting (at least one broadcast program as described above) isrecorded in the HDD 46.

The content/metadata supply unit 72 acquires the program informationdata (metadata), which has been commanded by the timer record settinginput unit 62 or the previous program list management unit 65, from theHDD 46 and supplies the program information data to the timer recordsetting input unit 62 or the previous program list management unit 65.

The content/metadata supply unit 72 acquires the video capsule thatcontains the program to be recorded (compressed content data), which hasbeen commanded by the previous program list management unit 65, from theHDD 46 and supplies the video capsule to the previous program listmanagement unit 65.

The example of the functional structure of the contentrecording/reproducing device 1 has been described.

As described above, the content recording/reproducing device 1 iscapable of setting the serial timer record with respect to “the programdelivered from the channel designated by the user in a predeterminedtime slot on a day of every week designated by the user” so as to beinput.

The user is allowed to easily have an operation of setting the serialtimer record as described above using the image for the serial timerrecord setting as shown in FIG. 6 which will be described later.

The content recording/reproducing device 1 is capable of dividing theinput serial timer record setting into the timer record settings by theprogram based on the respective program information data correspondingto the programs, and changing a predetermined property of the timerrecord setting if needed so as to be input.

The division timer record setting input unit 82 shown in FIG. 5 isprovided in the timer record setting input unit 62. The structure is notlimited to the above-described form. For example, it may be provided ineach of the content recording units 13A and 13B, respectively. In thiscase, the timer record setting input unit 62 is expected only to inputthe serial timer record setting to the content recording units 13A and13B such that each of the content recording units 13A and 13B executesthe process of division timer record setting.

Let us suppose that the serial timer record setting has been input to“record the program delivered from the channel A in the time slotbetween 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Tuesday” likewise the aforementionedexample. Let us also suppose that a first program is delivered from thechannel A in the time slot between 8 and 11 a.m. on the next Tuesday,and then a second program is scheduled to be delivered from the channelA from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. In short, each program information of the firstand the second programs contains data that specify the contents of thoseprograms to be delivered, respectively.

Let us suppose that a first condition for changing the “record mode” to“long (2.5 M)” as one of the timer set properties of the first programis established, and a second condition for changing the “effective term”to “0” as one of the timer set properties of the second program isestablished. Incidentally, as described above, the change in the timerset properties upon establishment of the first condition and/or thesecond condition is preliminarily stored in the timer set propertychange information storage unit 63.

In this case, the content recording unit 13A or 13B (hereinafterreferred to as a content recording unit 13) automatically acquires theprogram information data of the first program stored in the HDD 46 at apredetermined timing before 8 a.m. on the next Tuesday, for example, at7:55 a.m., and then, automatically divides the serial timer recordsetting to be divided into the timer record setting of the first programbased on the program information data.

The content recording unit 13 changes the “record mode” for the timerrecord setting of the first program to “long (2.5M)” based on the timerset property change information data stored in the timer set propertychange information storage unit 63.

Then the content recording unit 13 inputs the timer record setting ofthe first program, which contains the set information representing thatthe program is recorded at the record mode set to “long (2.5M)”.

On the next Tuesday at around 8 a.m., the content recording unit 13works to control the recording of the first program into the HDD 46 sothat the video capsule that contains the first program is recorded intothe HDD 46.

Further at a timing 5 minutes before 11 a.m. on the next Tuesday, thatis, 10:55 a.m., the content recording unit 13 automatically acquires theprogram information data of the second program stored in the HDD 46, andautomatically divides the timer record setting of the second programfrom the subject serial timer record setting.

The content recording unit 13 changes the “effective term” to “0” in thetimer record setting of the second program based on the timer setproperty change information data stored in the timer set property changeinformation storage unit 63.

The content recording unit 13 thus inhibits the input of the timerrecord setting of the second program (input is not executed). Thecontent recording unit 13 does not start controlling with respect to therecording of the second program into the HDD 46 even on the next Tuesdayat 11 a.m. As a result, the video capsule that contains the secondprogram is not recorded in the HDD 46.

In a different view from the recording management unit 71, the serialrecording corresponding to the serial timer record setting of thechannel A is under a control of the recording management unit 71 whichchanges a predetermined timer set property if needed at each timing forstarting the respective programs including the first and the secondprograms. In the case where the timer set property is changed, forexample, changing the “effective term” to “0”, the recording managementunit 71 serves to inhibit the control of the serial recording of thechannel A from the timing for starting the program having the timer setproperty changed (second program in the aforementioned example) to thetiming for starting the subsequent program.

The serial timer record setting may be defined as the timer recordsetting for recording entire contents delivered from a predeterminedsource (broadcast station) during a predetermined period. Thepredetermined period may be defined as being infinite. Based on theabove-described definition, the timer record setting for 24 hours may beconsidered as one form of the serial timer record setting. Accordingly,the record management unit 71 is capable of changing the predeterminedtimer set property in need at the timing for starting the respectiveprograms in the case of serial timer record setting for 24 hours. Therecording management unit 71 is capable of inhibiting the control of theserial recording for 24 hours from the timing for starting the programhaving the timer set property changed to the timing for starting thenext program in the case where the timer set property is changed, forexample, the “effective term” is changed to “0”.

The exemplary structure of the content recording/reproducing device 1has been described referring to FIGS. 1 to 5.

Referring to FIG. 6, the operation required for the user to set andinput the serial timer record setting will be described. That is, FIG. 6represents an example of the serial timer record setting output throughthe output unit 27 under the control of the information presentationintegration control unit 61 shown in FIG. 4 when the serial timer recordsetting input unit 81 shown in FIG. 5 executes the process of inputtingthe serial timer record setting as shown in FIG. 6.

Referring to the image representing the serial timer record setting inFIG. 6, a top pull-down menu 101 is used for selecting one of aplurality of content recording units 13, which is subjected to setting.In the embodiment of the invention, the pull-down menu 101 allows theuser to select one of the content recording units 13A and 13B shown inFIG. 1. For example, in FIG. 6, the content recording unit 13A isselected.

The pull-down menu 101 displays the “content recording unit 13A” in FIG.6. Actually, the description of the unit subjected to the setting, forexample, the DVD called “ODOROKU 1234” is displayed. This makes itpossible to notify the user with respect to the unit that has beencurrently set (selected by the user) definitely.

At a start-up timing, that is, immediately after the start of theprocess of serial timer record setting executed by the serial timerrecord setting input unit 81, the pull-down menu 101 displays apredetermined one of the content recording units 13 by default.

Three pull-down menus 102-1 to 102-3 are provided below the pull-downmenu 101 for selecting the channel. Each of the tuners 51-1 to 51-3provided in the currently set unit shown in FIG. 3 (the contentrecording unit 13 currently displayed on the pull-down menu 101) iscorresponded to each of the pull-down menus 102-1 to 102-3,respectively. Accordingly, each of the respective pull-down menus 102-1to 102-3 is used for selecting the channel corresponding to the tuners51-1 to 51-3, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 6, channels A, B and C are set as being correspondedto the tuners 51-1, 51-2, and 51-3, respectively as indicated by theimage of the pull-down menus 102-1 to 102-3.

Upon start-up, each of the pull-down menus 102-1 to 102-3 displays thename of the channel that has been currently set by default.

Displayed below the pull-down menu 102-1 is a table (hereinafterreferred to as a time table) that shows the input mode of the serialtimer record setting of the channel shown in the pull-down menu 102-1,that is, the channel corresponding to the tuner 51-1 (the channel A inFIG. 6).

In the example shown in FIG. 6, the time table has lateral sections(hereinafter referred to as the horizontal axis) of day (Monday=M,Tuesday=T, Wednesday=W, Thursday=T, Friday=F, Saturday=S, and Sunday=S),and longitudinal sections with which the time is assigned (hereinafterreferred to as a vertical axis; from 4 a.m. to the next 4 a.m. for 24hours shown in FIG. 6).

An area 104 filled in a predetermined color (gray in FIG. 6)of theentire area constituting the time table represents the serial timerrecord setting that has been already input. The area 104 correspondingto the time slot including the day in which the timer record setting hasbeen already input is displayed in the form different from that of theother area (the respective sections specified by the day and time). Forexample, referring to FIG. 6, the area 104 is displayed to be filled ingray color, while keeping other areas filled in white color.

Looking at the gray area 104, the user is able to easily confirm thatthe serial timer record setting to “record the content (program)delivered from the channel A in the time slot between 6 p.m. and 0 a.m.from every Monday to Saturday” has been input.

Likewise, displayed below the pull-down menu 102-2 is the time tablethat shows the input mode of the serial timer record setting of thechannel shown in the pull-down menu 102-2, that is, the channelcorresponding to the tuner 51-2 (the channel B in FIG. 6).

The gray areas 105 and 106 of all the area constituting the time tablerepresent the serial timer record setting that has been already input.Looking at the gray area 105, the user is able to easily confirm thatthe serial timer record setting to “record the content (program)delivered from the channel B in the time slot between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m.from every Monday to Friday” has been input. Looking at the gray area106, the user is able to easily confirm that the serial timer recordsetting to “record the content (program) delivered from the channel B inthe time slot between noon and 4 p.m. on every Monday” has been input.

Likewise, displayed below the pull-down menu 102-3 is the time tablethat shows the input mode of the serial timer record setting of thechannel shown in the pull-down menu 102-3, that is, the channelcorresponding to the tuner 51-3 (the channel C in FIG. 6)

The gray areas 107 to 109 of all the area constituting the time tablerepresent the serial timer record setting that has been input. Lookingat the gray areas 107 to 109, the user is able to easily confirm that aplurality of serial timer record settings to “record the content(program) delivered from the channel C in the time slot between 8 a.m.and 10 a.m. every Monday to Friday”, “record the content (program)delivered from the channel C in the time slot between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.every Sunday”, and “record the content (program) delivered from thechannel C in the time slot between 6 p.m. and 0 at midnight on everyMonday to Sunday” have been input, respectively.

Displayed below those three time tables is an area 110 that includes aninput box, a pull-down menu and the like for a new serial timer recordsetting (hereinafter referred to as a new timer record setting)including setting operations (setting of channel, day, and time slot),and updating the content of the serial timer record setting that hasbeen input (channel, day and time slot).

Displayed below the area 110 are four soft buttons 111 to 114.

The soft buttons 111 to 114 will be referred to as a new button 111, anOK button 112, an erase button 113, and a help button 114, respectively.Other soft buttons shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 will also be referred to asthe same descriptions.

Referring to the example of FIG. 6, the OK and the erase buttons 111 and113 are shown by the dashed line, indicating that those buttons isunavailable to be depressed at the time as shown in FIG. 6.

Detailed explanation with respect to the area 110, and the new button111 to the help button 114 will be described later.

The user is allowed to operate a new setting of the serial timer recordusing the serial timer record setting image shown in FIG. 6 as describedbelow.

The operation of the serial timer record setting image as the exampleshown in FIG. 6 will be described on the assumption that the mouse isselected among the input units 26 for the explanatory purposes. It is tobe understood that the user is allowed to operate the new timer recordsetting through the process that is the same as (or similar to) theoperation which will be described below even if the user uses the otherinput unit 26, for example, a remote controller and the like.

In the state where the serial timer record setting image is displayed onthe output unit 27 as shown in FIG. 6, if the operation for locating amouse pointer of a mouse (not shown) at the new button 111, and clicking(hereinafter simply referred to as a press-down operation) is performed,that is, the new button 111 is pressed down, the channel that iscurrently selected is identified in the channel box in the area 110,while other boxes and pull-down menus being kept blank.

The process of selecting the channel is not specifically limited, andthis embodiment assumes to use a method wherein the user moves the mousepointer to be located at an arbitrary position of the time tabledownward of the pull-down menu among those of 102-1 to 102-3, on whichthe desired channel is displayed, and then the user clicks for selectingsuch channel.

For example, when the mouse pointer is located at the point within thetime table downward of the pull down menu 102-1 and clicked, the channelA is supposed to be selected. In this instance, as shown in FIG. 6, the“channel A” is displayed in the area 110.

The user then moves the mouse to operate the pull-down menu rightward ofthe “timer record setting period” display for selecting the “time slot(between start time and finish time)” of the new timer record setting.The user operates the mouse to check at least one box from Mondaythrough Sunday downward of the pull-down menus for selecting the “day”in the new timer record setting. The user further operates the mouse touse the pull-down menu rightward of the “record mode” display downwardof the above-described check boxes for selecting the “record mode” ofthe new timer record setting. The record mode includes a standard mode,long mode, and the like for setting the image quality and audio qualityas described above.

The user moves the mouse pointer to the point in the time tablecorresponding to the required channel, and clicks so as to update the“channel” of the new timer record setting.

The content of the new timer record setting is automatically displayed(produced by the timer record setting input unit 62) in the boxrightward of the “video capsule” display in the area 110. The displayedcontent becomes the title of the video capsule set to be recorded inaccordance with the content of the new timer record setting. The user isallowed to change the content input to the box, that is, the title ofthe video capsule.

Specifically, assuming that the user intends to set (input) the timerrecord setting to “record the content (program) delivered from thechannel A in the time slot between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. on every Monday toFriday”, the user operates the mouse to input necessary information inthe respective boxes and the pull-down menus in the area 110.

In response to the press-down operation of the OK button 112, the timerrecord setting input unit 62 determines that execution of the new timerrecord setting is commanded, and recognizes the content displayed on thearea 110 as the authorized setting information.

If it is determined that there is no problem in the content of therecognized setting information, the timer record setting input unit 62generates the serial timer record setting (data) to which the gray areaindicating the new timer record setting is added. That is, the timerrecord setting input unit 62 updates the serial timer record settingimage.

The updated serial timer record setting image is supplied from the timerrecord setting input unit 62 to the information presentation integrationcontrol unit 61 so as to be displayed on the output unit 27. In thiscase, the serial timer record setting image (not shown) having lateralsections from “M” to “F” and longitudinal sections from “6” to “10” inthe time table below the pull-down menu 102-1 as shown in FIG. 6 isnewly added with the gray area, which will be displayed on the outputunit 27.

Looking at the newly added gray area, the user is able to easily confirmthe content of the new timer record setting. That is, the user is ableto easily confirm that the serial timer record setting to “record thecontent (program) delivered from the channel A in the time slot between6 a.m. and 10 a.m. on every Monday to Friday” has been input (alreadyset).

In the example, “the process of inputting individual items in the area110 and pressing down the OK button 112 after pressing down the newbutton 111” has been described as the exemplary operation for new serialtimer record setting.

The operation for the new timer record setting is not limited to theabove-described example, and various types of operation may be employed.

In the embodiment, when the mouse pointer is located to a point in oneof the gray areas representing the serial timer record setting which hasbeen already input (areas 104 to 109 shown in FIG. 6), and clicked, thecontent of the serial timer record setting indicated by the gray area towhich the mouse pointer is located is displayed on the area 110. Theerase button 113 is then enabled to be pressed down.

The user is allowed to locate the mouse pointer at the point in the grayarea indicating that the serial timer record setting has been input, andclick for the purpose of updating the content of the serial timer recordsetting that has been already input or erasing the serial timer recordsetting. The user updates the content displayed on the area 110 so as toupdate the content of the serial timer record setting, and presses downthe erasure button 113 so as to erase the serial timer record setting.

The help button 114 is a soft button operated for displaying the helpmenu.

The operations required for the user to set and input the serial timerrecord setting has been described referring to FIG. 6.

The serial timer record setting image is not limited to the exemplaryscreen image shown in FIG. 6, but may take various forms. Thedescription about the other example of the serial timer record settingimage is omitted for convenience of explanation. However, JapanesePatent Application No. 2004-138593 filed by the inventor of theinvention may serve as a useful reference.

Operations required for the user to generate the timer set propertychange information data will be described referring to FIGS. 7 and 8.FIGS. 7 and 8 each represent an example of the image for setting thetimer set property change information data output through (displayed on)the output unit 27 under the control of the information presentationintegration control unit 61 when the setting unit 64 shown in FIG. 4 isoperated to set (generate) the timer set property change informationdata.

Referring to an image 121 for setting the timer set property changeinformation data as the example shown in FIG. 7, a display field 131 isprovided below the messages at the top initiating from the “settingtimer set property change—the record mode of the news can be designatedto normal”. The display field 131 displays the list of the respectivetimer set property change information data currently stored in the timerset property change information storage unit 63.

Each line of the display field 131 corresponds to a single piece of thetimer set property change information data. In the embodiment, the timerset property change information data include a priority order (theleftmost numeral in each line of the display field 131), type,condition, timer set property to be changed, and the content thereof,which will be collectively referred to as the property to be changed.

The explanation of the priority order will be described later.

The type is used as the condition (later described), which may bedivided into “keyword” and “category” in the embodiment of theinvention.

The “keyword” (a symbol row) set as the type serves as the condition.The keyword (a symbol row) as the condition may be arbitrarily set bythe user as described later. In the case of the timer set propertychange information data while the “keyword” being set as the type, apredetermined timer set property of the program including the keyword (asymbol row) set as the condition is changed in accordance with thecontent of the property to be changed as described later.

Meanwhile, the “category” set as the type serves as the condition, whichis selected among a plurality of categories defined in the programinformation. The “category” includes “main” and “sub” in the embodiment.Specifically, in the embodiment, the “main” category includes “foreignmovie”, “Japanese movie”, “sport 1”, “sport 2”, “music”,“drama/theater”, “news/report”, “variety”, “documentary”,“leisure/hobby”, “children/education”, “culture/documentary”, “foreignprogram”, “adult”, “digital radio”, “others”, and “recommended program”which are preliminarily set as well as undefined category for the use infuture. In case of the timer set property change information data whilethe “category” being set as the type, a predetermined timer set propertyin the program including the category set as the condition as theprogram information data is changed in accordance with the content ofthe property to be changed (later described).

The property to be changed refers to the information including the timerset property to be changed, and the content in the change of three timerset property.

For example, three timer set properties to be changed are set in theembodiment as described below.

The “effective term” is the first timer set property to be changed. The“effective term” is the length of time for which the recorded program(video capsule) is held stored in the HDD 46A or 46B as shown in FIG. 4.In other words, if the “effective term” expires, the recorded program(video capsule) is subjected to the process “to automatically erase” tobe described later.

The “effective term” may be selected from twelve patterns in totalincluding “0 (timer record setting is not input, and accordingly, theprogram is not stored in the HDD 46A or 46B)”, “one day” to “six days”,and “one week” to “4 weeks”. The “one day” is set by default.

“To erase automatically” is the second timer set property to be changed.The “to erase automatically” represents that when the recordable memoryspace (residual memory) of the HDD 46A or 46B becomes a predeterminedthreshold value or less, the recording management unit 71A or 71Bdetermines the recorded program to be erased in accordance with the ruleas described below, and the determined programs are automatically erasedfrom the HDD 46A or 46B until the residual memory exceeds thepredetermined threshold value.

The rule for performing “to erase automatically” will be describedhereinafter. The embodiment employs following conditions (a) to (e). Theorder of those conditions (a) to (e) is defined by the priority. Uponexecution “to erase automatically”, those conditions are applied in theorder from (a) to (e). The recorded programs to be erased will besequentially erased until the recordable memory space (residual space)of the HDD 46A or 46B exceeds the predetermined threshold level.

Condition (a): The recorded program protected by folding the pawl isnever erased irrespective of the other state.

The term “protected” represents the concept corresponding to theprotection of the data recorded in the video tape by folding the pawlthereof in the hardware. In this case, there are tow properties, one isthe state where “the pawl has been folded”, and the other is the statewhere “the pawl is not folded”. Accordingly, no one can erase therecorded program exhibiting the property in which “the pawl is folded”.For example, the property in which “the pawl is folded” may be set forthe purpose of preserving the program for an elongated time using theimage for GUI (not shown) by the user. The property in which “the pawlis not folded” may be set for the purpose of erasing the recordedprogram using the image for GUI.

Condition (b): The recorded program which is set “not to eraseautomatically” cannot be erased.

Condition (c): If the recorded program is set “to erase automatically”,and has the “effective term” expired (elapsed), it will be erased.

The recorded program having the “effective period” expired may be erasedeven if the recordable memory (residual memory space) of the HDD 46A or46B exceeds the threshold level. If the residual memory is insufficient,the recorded program which is set to be “automatically erased” andsatisfies the condition (c), that is, the program having the “effectiveperiod” expired is first erased.

Condition (d): The recorded programs which are set to be “automaticallyerased”, and never have the “effective term” set are sequentially erasedin the chronological order of the time at which the program has started.

Condition (e): The recorded programs which are set to be “automaticallyerased”, and have the “effective term” not expired yet are sequentiallyerased in the chronological order of the time at which the program hasstarted.

The “automatic erasure” as the second timer set property, thus, includesoperations to “to erase automatically” and “not to erase automatically”which are defined by the aforementioned conditions so as to be selected.By default, “to erase automatically” is set.

The “record mode” is the third timer set property to be changed. The“record mode” is used for setting the image quality or audio quality asdescribed above.

The “record mode” includes such modes as “high definition”, “normal(4M)”, “long (2.5 M)”, and “long (1.25 M)”. By default, the mode is setto “long (2.5 M)”.

Specifically, the timer set property change information on the firstline from the top of the display area 131 (except the line on which the“type”, “condition”, “property to be changed” are displayed), that is,the one with the 1st priority order has the “keyword” set as the type.When the program that contains the program information of “worldheritage” as the keyword is input, the timer set property of the“automatic erasure” has been changed “not to erase automatically”, andthe timer set property of the “record mode” has been changed to “normal(4M)”.

The timer set property change information on the ninth line from the topin the display area 131 represents the one having the “category” set asthe type. In the case where the program that contains the programinformation of “documentary” as the category is input, the timer setproperty change information has the timer set property of the “effectiveterm” changed to “0”.

If a predetermined program is intended to be subjected to the input ofthe timer record setting, it is determined whether such programsatisfies conditions of the respective timer set property changeinformation data displayed in the display area 131 sequentially in thepriority order. The predetermined timer set property in the programsubjected to the input of the timer record setting will be changed inaccordance with the property to be changed of the timer set propertychange information with the highest priority order among those forsatisfying the condition.

In the case where a first program having the “world heritage” and“documentary (category)” contained in the program information data issubjected to the timer record setting, the “automatic erasure” and the“record mode” as the timer set properties are changed “not toautomatically erase” and “normal (4M)”, respectively so as to satisfythe condition of the timer set property change information with the 1stpriority order. In this case, the first program satisfies the conditionof the timer set property change information with the 9th priorityorder. Since the timer set priority change information with the 1stpriority has been applied to change the timer set property, the one withthe 9th priority order is not applied. That is, the “effective term” ofthe first program is not changed to “0”, and as a result, the timerrecord setting of the first program is input so as to be recorded in theHDD 46A or 46B.

Meanwhile, in the case where the second program having the “documentary(category)” contained but “world heritage” not contained in the programinformation is subjected to the input of the timer record setting, thecondition of the timer set property change information with the 1stpriority order is not met, which is not applied. If it is determinedthat the second program fails to satisfy conditions of the timer setproperty change information with the 2nd to the 8th priority orders, itis determined to satisfy the condition of such information with the 9thpriority order, which is applied. The “effective term” of the secondprogram is changed to “0”, and as a result, the timer record setting ofthe second program is not input so as not to be recorded in the HDD 46Anor 46B.

Basically, the program categorized as “documentary” is not subjected tothe input of the timer record setting, in other words, not recorded inthe HDD 46A or 46B in accordance with the timer set property changeinformation having the condition of the “documentary”. If the userrequires to record the program categorized as the “documentary”, thetimer set property change information is produced to include the keywordcorresponding to the user's request (for example, “world heritage”), andthe priority order of the timer set property information is made higherthan the one including the “documentary (category)” with the 9thpriority order, for example. The user is allowed to input the timerrecord setting of the required program reliably, and as a result, suchprogram may be recorded in the HDD 46A or 46B.

Referring to FIG. 7, the condition of the timer set property changeinformation with the 7th priority order, “no program information”represents the portion of the timer record setting of theabove-described serial timer record setting in the time slot for whichno program is broadcasted (time range between midnight and earlymorning). The timer set property change information with the 7thpriority order is the one produced for inhibiting input of the timerrecord setting in the time slot for which no program is broadcasted. The“effective term” as the property to be changed is set to “0”.

TOP button 132, DOWN button 133, change button 134, and erase button 135as soft buttons are provided below the display area 131 that displaysthe list of the timer set property change information for newlyregistering the timer set property change information (new storage tothe timer set property change information storage unit 63 shown in FIG.4), changing and erasing the content of the timer set property changeinformation data that have been already registered.

The user is allowed to newly register the timer set property changeinformation, change and erase the content of the timer set propertychange information data that have been already registered by performinga predetermined operation, that is, pressing down of those buttons 132to 135. An example of the predetermined operation will be described.

The operations in the example shown in FIG. 7 and the operations withrespect to the image for setting the timer set property changeinformation of the example shown in FIG. 8 to be later described will beexplained on the assumption that the mouse is employed as the input unit26 shown in FIG. 4 for convenience of explanation. It is to beunderstood that the user is allowed to newly register the timer setproperty change information, change and erase the content of the timerset property change information data that have been already registeredthrough the identical operation as described below or similar theretoeven if a remote control as the input unit 26 is employed.

In the display area 131, the line that displays the timer set propertychange information selected as the one to be newly added, intended tohave its content changed, or erased will be highlighted. Hereinafter,the highlighted timer set property change information will be referredto as the selected timer set property change information. The selectedtimer set property change information as shown in the 10th line of thedisplay area 131 shown in FIG. 7 does not have any particularinformation, and therefore “unset” is displayed on such line. The timerset property change information may be newly registered by highlightingthe line that displays “unset” so as to be changed to the selected timerset property change information.

The user is allowed to freely change the selected timer set propertychange information by depressing the “UP” button 132 or the “DOWN”button 133. Specifically, as the user depresses the “UP” button 132once, the selected timer set property change information (highlighted)moves up line by line sequentially in the display area 131. Meanwhile,as the user depresses the “DOWN” button 133 once, the selected timer setproperty change information (highlighted) moves down line by linesequentially in the display area 131.

The user is allowed to set a predetermined timer set property changeinformation (on the predetermined line in the display area 131) as theselected timer set property change information by pressing down the “UP”button 132 or the “DOWN” button 133. The user is allowed to change thecontent of the selected timer set property change information data bydepressing the CHANGE button 134. The change in the content of theselected timer set property change information includes not onlyupdating of the content that has been already set but also newregistration of the timer set property change information. In theexample shown in FIG. 7, the 10th line that displays “unset” in thedisplay area 131 is highlighted to be set as the selected timer setproperty change information. In this state, the user is allowed to newlyadd the property change information by depressing the CHANGE button 134.

In the embodiment, when the user depresses the CHANGE button 134, thesetting unit 64 shown in FIG. 4 outputs (displays) the image for settingthe timer set property change information shown in FIG. 8 via theinformation presentation integration control unit 61 from the outputunit 27. FIG. 8 shows an example of the image for setting the timer setproperty change information for making various settings of the selectedtimer set property change information.

Referring to an image 141 for setting the timer set property changeinformation of the example shown in FIG. 8, a top pull-down menu 142 isused for selecting the priority order of the selected timer set propertychange information. In the example, the priority order may be selectedbetween 1 and 20 as shown in the display area 131 of FIG. 7 by selectingthe number corresponding to the priority order from the pull-down menu142.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, the number 8 is selected from thepull-down menu 142, that is, the priority order is selected to the 8th.In this case, the content of the display in the display area 131 shownin FIG. 7 is shown on the 8th line as the selected timer set propertychange information, and the rest of the timer set property changeinformation data move up or down line by line so as to be displayed. Inthe case where the original priority order of the timer set propertychange information, that is, 4th is changed to 8th, the original order(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 . . . ) will be changed to the order (1, 2,3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 4, 9, . . . ). The display in the display area 131 shownin FIG. 7 will be updated accordingly.

Check boxes 143, 144, and 147 are provided below the pull-down menu 142for selecting the type of the condition of the selected timer setproperty change information data.

If the check box 143 is checked (selected), the condition for theselected timer set property change information will not be changed.

If the check box 143 is checked (selected), the “category” is set (used)as the type of the condition for the selected timer set property changeinformation. In this case, the user is allowed to operate pull-downmenus 145 and 146 to the right of the screen image. The user selects the“main” category from the pull-down menu 145, and the “sub” category fromthe pull-down menu 146. In the example shown in FIG. 8, “Others” isselected from the “main” pull-down menu 145, and “Shopping” is selectedfrom the “sub” pull-down menu 146, respectively, which are set as therespective conditions.

When the check box 147 is checked (selected), “keyword” will be set(used) as the type of the condition of the selected timer set propertychange information. In this case, a text input box 148 to the right ofthe screen display is enabled. The user is allowed to input a requiredkeyword (“world heritage” or “chatting” as shown in FIG. 7) in the textinput box 148 through the input unit 27 shown in FIG. 4, for example. Inthe embodiment, the word having up to 16 Chinese characters may be inputinto the text input box 148. By default, the null character sequence isdisplayed (no symbol is displayed).

Check boxes 149, 151, and 153 are provided below the checkbox 147 forsetting the property to be changed.

When the check box 149 is checked (selected), the “effective term” isset (employed) as the timer set property to be changed. In this case, apull-down menu 150 to the right of the checkbox 149 is enabled. Thepull-down menu 150 is used for selecting the above-described “effectiveterm”. Referring to the image of FIG. 8, “0 (to be erased without timerrecord setting)” is selected and set (employed) as the “effective term”.

When the check box 151 is checked (selected), the “automatic erasure” isset (employed) as the timer set property to be changed. In this case, apull-down menu 152 to the right of the check box 151 is enabled. Thepull-down menu 152 is used for selecting the above-described “automaticerasure”. Referring to the image of FIG. 8, the checkbox 151 is notchecked, and accordingly the “automatic erasure” is displayed bydefault.

When the checkbox 153 is checked (selected), the “record mode” is set(employed) as the timer set property to be changed. In this case, apull-down menu 154 to the right of the checkbox 153 is enabled. Thepull-down menu 154 is used for selecting the above-described type of the“record mode”. Referring to the image of FIG. 8, the checkbox 153 is notchecked, and accordingly the “long (2.5 M)” is set by default.

As the checkboxes 149, 151, and 153 are operated independently, at leastone of those checkboxes may be checked (selected) simultaneously.

An OK button 155 as a soft button is depressed by the user for settlingvarious settings as described above. When the user depresses the OKbutton 155, the setting unit 64 determines that the setting of theselected timer set property change information has been settled, andfurther recognizes that the content of the image 141 for setting thetimer set property change information as an authorized set information.If the setting unit 64 determines that the content of the recognized setinformation has no problem, new registration of the timer set propertychange information or updating of the content of the timer set propertythat has been already registered are performed in accordance with thecontent of the set information.

Assuming that the CHANGE button 134 is depressed in the state where the10th line from the top of the display area 131 displays the selectedtimer set property change information in FIG. 7, and the OK button 155is further depressed in the state where the screen image is displayed asshown in FIG. 8, the timer set property change information with thepriority order set to 8th, type of the condition set to “category”, the“main” category set to “Others”, the “sub” category set to “shopping”,and the property to be changed set to the “effective term set to 0” willbe newly stored (newly added) in the timer set property changeinformation storage unit 63 shown in FIG. 4.

The 8th line of the display area 131 displays such information as “8Category Others Shopping Effective Term 0”(not shown), and the screendisplay will be updated such that the information displayed subsequentto the 8th line will shift down line by line.

A CANCEL button 156 as the soft button next to the OK button 155 isdepressed by the user for canceling various settings as described above.When the user depresses the cancel button 156, the content of thedisplayed image 141 for setting the timer set property changeinformation is brought into the default.

Referring to FIG. 7, the ERASE button 135 as the soft button isdepressed for erasing the selected timer set property changeinformation. When the user depresses the ERASE button 135, the selectedtimer set property change information is erased from the timer setproperty change information storage unit 63. The display content of thedisplay area 131 (not shown) is erased from the selected timer setproperty change information (the 20th line displaying “unset”), and thescreen image is updated by shifting up the timer set property changeinformation with the subsequent priority orders line by line.

The user is allowed to freely set the timer set property changeinformation with required priority order, required condition, andrequired property to be changed. The user is allowed to input so as notto send the timer record setting of a specific program (by changing the“effective term” to “0” in the embodiment). The user is further allowedto set so as to record the specific program at its image qualityenhanced (by changing the “record mode” to “high definition”). The useris allowed to determine the erasure timing depending on the requirementof the user rather than erasing the recorded program in thechronological order. For example, the user is allowed to set such thatthe news show is erased after an elapse of a shorter period, and theuser's favorite program is saved for a longer period in compliance withthe user's demand (by setting to change the “automatic erasure” or the“effective term”. The user is able to perform various settings freely.

In the embodiment of the invention, the user is able to perform settingof the timer set property change information (new addition, change orerasure of the content) freely. The timer record setting is input inaccordance with the above-described setting. The resultant freedomdegree of such setting with respect to the requirement of recording theprogram, and determination of the timing for erasing the program afterrecording, thus, may be enhanced.

An example of the operations to set the timer set property changeinformation (new addition, change or erasure of the content) has beendescribed. It is to be understood that the operation process is notlimited to the example, but various types of the process may beemployed.

The image for setting the timer set property change information is notlimited to those shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, but may take various forms (notshown).

Referring to the flowchart of FIG. 9, an example of a “division timerrecord setting input process” executed by the division timer recordsetting input unit 82 of the timer record setting input unit 62 will bedescribed hereinafter.

The division timer record setting input process will be describedreferring to FIGS. 10 to 15 for easy understanding. FIG. 10 is a graphshowing an example of the program titles and the corresponding programinformation data. FIGS. 11 to 15 are charts each representing an exampleof the result of the “division timer record setting input process”. Morespecifically, each of FIGS. 11 to 15 represents the program schedule ofthe channel A (table that displays the program to be on the air in thetime slot between 6 and 21 (9 p.m.). A table that represents the contentof the input of the timer record setting with respect to the channel Aat a time point when a predetermined process of the “division timerrecord setting input process” has been finished (hereinafter referred toas a content of the timer record setting of the channel A).

Referring to the content of the record setting of the channel A shown inFIG. 11, the serial timer record setting in the time slot between 8 and15 (referred to as a first serial timer record setting), and the serialtimer record setting in the time slot from 20 (referred to as a secondserial timer record setting) are input.

The “division timer record setting input process” shown in the flowchartof FIG. 9 starts at a predetermined time point before 8 a.m. at whichthe first serial timer record setting starts.

In step S1, the division timer record setting input unit 82 sets theprocess time to 8 at which the first serial timer record setting starts.

In step S2, a program timer record setting division unit 91 of thedivision timer record setting input unit 82 determines whether there isa program to be on the air after the process time upon execution of thefirst serial timer record setting.

If it is determined that there is no program to be on the air after theprocess time in step S2, the “division timer record setting inputprocess” ends.

Referring to the channel A program schedule shown in FIG. 11, programsA, B, and C are regarded as the program expected to be on the air afterthe process time. In this case, it is determined that the program to beon the air after the process time exists in step S2, and the processproceeds to step S3.

In step S3, the program timer record setting division unit 91 obtainsthe program information with respect to the first program after theprocess time as the notable program from a content/metadata supply unit72. Referring to the channel A program schedule shown in FIG. 11, theprogram A is regarded as the notable program such that the programinformation including “drama”, “romance”, “actor A”, and the like asshown in FIG. 10 is acquired.

In the flowchart shown in FIG. 9, the process is divided into the stepsS2 and S3. Actually, however, it may be executed without division. Inthis case, only when an arbitrary program information is supplied fromthe content/metadata supply unit 72, it is determined that there is theprogram to be on the air after the process time such that the processproceeds to step S4.

In step S4, the program timer record setting division unit 91 dividesthe timer record setting of the program A (hereinafter referred to asthe timer record setting A) as the notable program from the first serialtimer record setting as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. When the timer recordsetting A is supplied from the program timer record setting divisionunit 91 to the timer set property change unit 92, the process proceedsto step S5.

In step S5, the timer set property change unit 92 obtains the conditionof the timer set property change information with the 1st priority order(hereinafter referred to as the timer set property change condition)from the timer set property change information storage unit 63.

In the case where the timer set property change conditions with priorityorders from the 1st to 9th (1st to 9th lines) displayed in the displayarea shown in FIG. 7 are stored in the timer set property changeinformation storage unit 63, “world heritage (keyword)” is acquired asthe timer set property change condition in step S5.

In step S6, the timer set property change unit 92 determines whether thetimer set property change condition is in compliance with the programinformation.

Referring to FIG. 10, as the program information of the channel A doesnot include the “world heritage”, it is determined that the timer setproperty change condition is not in compliance with the programinformation. The process then proceeds to step S7.

In step S7, the timer set property change unit 92 determines whether allthe timer set property change conditions have been checked.

In the present case, as the timer set property change condition with the1st priority order is only checked, it is determined that all the timerset property change conditions have not been checked in step S7, and theprocess proceeds to step S8.

In step S8, the timer set property change unit 92 acquires the timer setproperty change condition with the next priority order from the timerset property change information storage unit 63. The process returns toS6 for executing the subsequent process repeatedly.

In the present case, the “chatting (keyword)” as the timer set propertychange condition with the 2nd priority order is acquired in step S8. Asthe program information of the program A does not include the“chatting”, NO is obtained in step S6. Then the “foreign movie” isacquired as the timer set property change condition with the 3rdpriority order in step S8. The process is returned to step S6 forexecuting the subsequent process repeatedly.

Referring to the display area 131 shown in FIG. 7, the A programinformation does not include all the timer set property changeconditions with the 1st to 9th priority orders. Accordingly NO isobtained in every determination with respect to the timer set propertychange conditions with the 1st to 9th priority orders in step S6. Theloop process from steps S6 to S8 is repeatedly executed with respect tothe timer set property change conditions with the 1st to 9th priorityorders, respectively. In step S7, when it is determined that the timerset property change condition with the 9th priority order has beenchecked, the process proceeds to step S10 where the program A timerrecord setting (timer record wetting of the program A) is supplied fromthe timer set property change unit 92 to the timer record setting inputunit 93 without changing the timer set property.

Then in step S10, the timer record setting input unit 93 inputs thetimer record setting of the notable program, that is, the program Atimer record setting to the recording management unit 71 as shown inFIG. 12.

In step S11, the division timer record setting input unit 82 changes theprocess time to the finish time of either the notable program or theserial timer record setting, whichever earlier. The process then returnsto step S2 for executing the subsequent process repeatedly.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the process time is set to 9 as the finishtime of the program A in step S11. In the case where YES is obtained instep S2, and the program B is set as the notable program in step S3, theprogram information including “documentary”, “travel”, “world heritage”and the like is acquired. Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, the timer recordsetting of the program B as the notable program (hereinafter referred toas the program B timer record setting) is divided from the first serialtimer record setting in step S4.

The process in step S5 and the loop process of steps S6 to S8 areexecuted repeatedly so as to make a determination whether the programinformation of the program B includes the timer set property changeconditions with the 1st to 9th priority orders sequentially from thehighest priority.

In the present case, the program B includes the “world heritage” as thetimer set property change condition with the 1st priority order, YES isobtained in step S6 where the determination is made with respect to thetimer set property change condition with the 1st priority order. Theprocess then proceeds to step S9.

In step S9, the timer set property change unit 92 changes the timer setproperty of the notable program to the property designated by the user.More specifically, in accordance with the content of the property changeof the timer set property change information with the 1st priority orderas shown in FIG. 7, that is, “not to automatically erase, and normal4(M)”, the “automatic erasure” and the “record mode” among the timer setproperties of the program B as the notable program are changed “not toautomatically erase” and “normal 4(M)”, respectively.

In step S10, the program B timer record setting (timer record setting ofthe program B) having the timer set properties partially changed asdescribed below is input to the recording management unit 71.

It is to be noted that even if the program B information includes the“documentary” as the timer set property change condition with the 9thpriority order, YES has been obtained in step S6 where the determinationis made with respect to the timer set property change condition with the1st priority order, and the process proceeds to step S9. Accordingly thedetermination with respect to the “documentary” as the timer setproperty change condition with the 9th priority order in step S6 is notexecuted. In other words, the timer set property of the program B timerrecord setting is partially changed using the timer set property changeinformation with the 1st priority order, the information with thepriority order lower than the 1st priority order, for example, the 9thpriority order, is not used. Generally, a predetermined timer setproperty of the notable program is changed using only the timer setproperty change information with the highest priority order among thosehaving the timer set property change information included in the programinformation of the notable program, and the timer record setting of thenotable program is input.

Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, the process times is set to 10 as thefinish time of the program B in step S11. In the case where YES isobtained in step S2, and the program C is set as the notable program instep S3, the program information including “foreign movie”, “action”,“actor B”, and the like is acquired as shown in FIG. 10. The timerrecord setting of the program C (program C timer record setting) as thenotable program is divided from the first serial timer record setting.

The process of step S5 and the loop process of steps S6 to S8 arerepeatedly executed such that it is determined whether the program Bincludes the timer set property change conditions with the 1st to 9thpriority orders one by one sequentially from the highest priority order.

As the C program information includes the “foreign movie” as the timerset property change condition with the 3rd priority order, YES isobtained in step S6 where the determination is made with respect to thetimer set property change condition with the 3rd priority order. Theprogram then proceeds to step S9.

In step S9, the “record mode” as the timer set property of the program Cas the notable program is changed to “long 2.5(M)” as shown in FIG. 14in accordance with the content of the property change of the timer setproperty change information with the 3rd priority order as shown in FIG.7.

Then in step S10, the program C (program C timer record setting) havingthe timer set properties partially changed is input to the recordingmanagement unit 71.

Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, the process time is set to 12:30 as thefinish time of the program C in step S11. In the case where YES isobtained in step S2, and the program D is set as the notable program,the program information including “documentary”, “life”, “big family”,and the like is acquired as shown in FIG. 10. In step S4, the timerrecord setting of the program D as the notable program (hereinafterreferred to as the program D timer record setting) is divided from thefirst serial timer record setting as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15.

The process in step S5 and the loop process from steps S6 to S8 areexecuted repeatedly such that it is determined whether the D programinformation includes the timer set property change conditions with the1st to 9th priority orders one by one sequentially from the highestpriority order.

As the program D information includes the “documentary” as the timer setproperty change condition with the 9th priority order, YES is obtainedin step S6. The program, then proceeds to step S9.

In step S9, the “effective term” of the timer set properties of theprogram D as the notable program shown in FIG. 15 is changed to “0” inaccordance with the content of the property change of the timer setproperty change information with the 9th priority order, that is,“effective term set to 0”.

When the “effective term” is changed to “0”, the program D timer recordsetting (timer record setting of the program D) is not input to therecording management unit 71 in step S10 shown in FIG. 15. In otherwords, execution of the process in step S10 is inhibited, and theprocess proceeds to step S11.

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, the process times is set to 15 as thefinish time of the first serial timer record setting in step S11. In thesubsequent step S2, it is determined that there is no program to be onthe air after the process time in the first serial timer record setting,and accordingly, the “division timer record setting input process” ends.

The “division timer record setting input process” is started again at apredetermined timing before 20 at which the subsequent second serialtimer record setting starts.

An example of the “division timer record setting input process” and amore detailed example thereof (results of the process) have beendescribed referring to the flowchart of FIG. 9, and FIGS. 10 to 15,respectively.

In the example, the division timer record setting input unit 62 forexecuting the “division timer record setting input process” is providedin the timer record setting input unit 62 of the main control unit 11.However, it is not limited to the example, but may be provided in thecontent recording unit 13A or 13B.

The “division timer record setting input process” is not limited to theexample shown in FIG. 9 but various types of processing may be employed.

Referring to the chart of the channel A timer record schedule shown inFIG. 11, only a part of the program A is set to be timer recorded (theinitial part of the program is not recorded). Basically, the serialtimer record setting is input by the user. Specifically, it is designedto prioritize the private timer record setting based on the intention ofthe user. In the example of the “division timer record setting inputprocess” as shown in FIG. 9, the program A timer record is set byprioritizing the starting time of the first serial timer record setting,that is, 8 over that of the program A, that is, 7:30.

In the example of the “division timer record setting input process”shown in FIG. 9, the program D timer record is set by prioritizing thefinish time of the first serial timer record setting, that is, 15 overthat of the program D, that is, 15:30. In other words, the program Dtimer record is set to record a part of the program D (last part cannotbe recorded).

If the above-described prioritization is not required, the “divisiontimer record setting input process” in which the starting time and thefinish time of the broadcast program are prioritized may be employed.Assuming that such “division timer record setting input process” isperformed, the program A timer record is set to “record the program Aentirely, that is, to “record the content (program) delivered from thechannel A in the time slot between 7:30 and 9”. Likewise, the program Dtimer record is set to “record the program D entirely”, that is, to“record the content (program) delivered from the channel A in the timeslot between 12:30 and 15:30.

The “division timer record setting input process” is individuallyexecuted with respect to each of the tuners provided in the contentrecording/reproducing device 1 shown in FIG. 1. In the embodiment, the“division timer record setting input process” is individually(independently) executed with respect to the tuners 51-1A to 51-3A, and51-1B to 51-3B provided in the content recording units 13A and 13B,respectively as shown in FIG. 3.

In accordance with the result of the “division timer record settinginput process” individually executed for each of the tuners 51-1A to51-3A, that is, each content of the input timer record setting, therecording management unit 71A of the content recording unit 13A shown inFIG. 4 controls the content acquiring unit 45A for recording the programin the HDD 46A. Video capsules that include compressed content datacorresponding to the respective timer record settings are produced oneby one so as to be accumulated (recorded) in the HDD 46A.

Likewise, in accordance with the result of the “division timer recordsetting input process” individually executed for each of the tuners51-1B to 51-3B, that is, each content of the input timer record setting,the recording management unit 71B of the content recording unit 13Bshown in FIG. 4 controls the content acquiring unit 45B for recordingthe program in the HDD 46B. Video capsules that include compressedcontent data corresponding to the respective timer record settings areproduced one by one so as to be accumulated (recorded) in the HDD 46B.

A large amount of the thus produced video capsules are accumulated inthe HDD 46A and 46B unless a particular measure is not taken. In theembodiment of the invention, the timer set property is changed, forexample, changing the “effective term” to “0” so as to effectively usethe recordable memory space of the HDD 46A and 46B. In other words, acertain program set in the serial timer record, which is not required bythe user to be recorded is eliminated (recording is inhibited) throughfiltering set by the user, and the rest of the programs, that is, theprogram required by the user to be stored is recorded in the HDDs 46Aand 46B under the conditions set by the user (“record mode”, “automaticerasure”, “effective term”) rather than recording the program set in theserial timer record entirely in the HDD 46A or 46B.

Recently, as the recordable memory space of the HDD 46A or 46B hasbecome considerably large, even if the number of programs to be recordedis narrowed down through the filtration, the user may feel difficulty insearching the required video capsule among a large number of data storedin the HDD 46A and 46B unless an appropriate data management process isnot employed, that is, a first problem occurs.

Even if the data recorded in the HDD 46A and 46B are managed based onthe generally employed previous program schedule, the first problem maystill occur. The generally employed previous program schedule is a meretable made on the basis of the program information of all the programsthat have been on the air before, which represents all the programs(program list) irrespective of the fact whether each of those programsis actually recorded or not. It is difficult to tell the recordedprogram from the program that has not been recorded from the generallyemployed previous program schedule. Accordingly the first problemoccurs, that is, it is considerably difficult for the user to search therequired recorded program, thus causing the first problem

All the programs shown on the generally employed previous programschedule cannot be reproduced, thus causing the second problem.

A technique for providing the recorded program among those shown on theprevious program schedule with a predetermined mark, or changing thedisplay form has been proposed for solving the second problem. Thisallows the distinction between the recorded program and the non-recordedprogram to a certain degree.

However, such technique may be used on the assumption that the generallyemployed previous program schedule on which all the programs on the air(the list that shows such programs) is used. The user has to locate theprograms which are marked or displayed differently among all theprograms on the schedule before selecting the desired program to berecorded. The technique that demands the troublesome operations willmake the user feel difficulty in searching the required recordedprogram, failing to solve the first problem.

The aforementioned technique has the second problem that all thedisplayed programs cannot be reproduced.

In the embodiment, data (recorded programs) stored in the HDD 46A and46B are managed in accordance with the previous program list that isdifferent from the generally employed program schedule (hereinafterreferred to as a previous program schedule according to the invention)so as to solve both the first and the second problems.

The previous program schedule according to the invention is formed ofthe program information of the recorded program contained in the videocapsule that has been actually recorded, which will be described indetail referring to FIG. 16. The recorded programs (program listingindicating those programs) are only displayed such that all thedisplayed programs are reproduced. More correctly, the previous programschedule according to the invention shows the area that indicates theprogram that has not been recorded resulting from changing the“effective term” to “0”, that is, an area 204 shown in FIG. 16. Theprogram represented by such area, thus, cannot be reproduced.

Looking through the previous program schedule according to theinvention, the user is allowed to easily search the required recordedprogram. Further the user is allowed to easily perform a commandingoperation to reproduce the thus searched recorded program.

An example of the previous program schedule according to the inventionis shown in FIG. 16. The example of the previous program scheduleaccording to the invention will be described referring to FIG. 16.

The example of the previous program schedule in FIG. 16 shows theprogram section (display area) in the form similar to the TV listing onsuch medium as a newspaper. On the area 201, the program sections eachshowing the respective recorded programs by the channel are arranged anddisplayed in the area representing the recorded time slot. Each of theprogram sections is displayed having its length in the longitudinaldirection corresponding to the time period taken for recording.

In each program section of the recorded program, an image (motion orstill image) for thumbnail, and the title of the program are normallydisplayed. In the program section of the program having the short timetaken for recording, display of the thumbnail may be omitted if neededbecause the length (size) of the program section corresponding to therecorded time slot is too short to display the thumbnail.

Referring to the example shown in FIG. 16, in the channel A section, theprogram section indicating the music program A recorded in the time slotbetween 20:05 and 20:50 and onward is displayed. This means that themusic program A delivered from the channel A has been recorded in theaforementioned time slot. Meanwhile in the area representing the timeslot between 19:30 and 20:05, the program section is not displayed. Thismeans that the content (program) delivered from the channel A in theabove time slot is not recorded.

Likewise, in the channel B section, the program section 202 as the musicprogram B recorded in the time slot between 19:25 and 19:50, and theprogram section representing the information program A recorded in thetime slot at a time point of 20 onward. In the respective time slots,the music program B and the information program A have been recorded inthe aforementioned time slots. Meanwhile, as the program section is notdisplayed in the area that represents the time slot between 19:50 and20. The content (program) delivered from the channel B in the above timeslot is not recorded. The reason why the display form of the programsection 202 is different from that of the other program section will bedescribed later.

In the channel C section, the program section that represents the newsprogram A that has been recorded in the time slot from a predeterminedtime point before 19:25 to 19:55. This means that the news program Adelivered from the channel C has been recorded in the time slot.Meanwhile, the program section is not displayed on the area thatrepresents the time slot between 19:55 and 20:50. It is to be understoodthat the content (program) delivered from the channel C in the abovetime slot is not recorded.

In the channel D section, the program section that represents thegymnastic program A that has been recorded in the time slot between20:30 and 20:50 onward. This means that the gymnastic program Adelivered from the channel D has been recorded in the above time slot.In the area that shows the time slot between 19:25 and 20:00, theprogram section is not displayed. This means that the content (program)delivered from the channel D in the time slot is not recorded. Thefilled area in black 204 will be described later.

In the channel E section, the program section that represents theweather program A that has been recorded in the time slot between 19:35and 19:50. This means that the weather program A delivered from thechannel E in the time slot has been recorded. Meanwhile, in the areacorresponding to the time slot between 19:55 and 20:50, the programsection is not displayed. The content (program) delivered from thechannel E has not been recorded in the time slot.

In the area 201 as described above, images of the program on the air orreproduced at present (hereinafter referred to as the background image)are displayed downward of the previous program schedule according to theinvention including the program sections as described above. Thebackground image is so controlled to be displayed only on the area onwhich the program section in the area 201 is not displayed (the areacorresponding to the time slot having no program recorded) as shown inFIG. 16.

A program section 202 indicating the music program B delivered from thechannel B is selected at present. In the case where the user is intendedto command reproducing of the program (music program B in the example ofFIG. 16), such program section is selected (designated) throughoperation of the input unit 26 shown in FIG. 4. In FIG. 16, the selectedprogram section is displayed in gray color, which will be highlighted.

Various types of the information with respect to the program section 202(corresponding recording program) will be displayed on the area 203 inneed.

The program sections other than the selected program section 202 are notselected, which are displayed in white color as shown in FIG. 16.Actually it may be displayed translucently. In this case, unselectedprogram sections are displayed transparently such that the backgroundimage (program on the air or reproduced at present) downward of theprogram section is displayed.

The program section 204 filled in black represents to have the timer setproperty of the program at least partially changed by the timer setproperty change unit 92 (hereinafter referred to as the timer setproperty change program section). The program having the “effectiveterm” changed to “0” so as not to be recorded in the HDD 46A or 46Bwithout inputting the timer record setting is displayed as being filledin black color.

When the user selects the timer set property change program section 204through operation of the input unit 26 shown in FIG. 4, the informationwith respect to the title of the program, and indicating how the timerset property has been displayed in the timer set property change programsection 204 or other area in the area 203 (not shown). “Other area” maybe within the display area 201 shown in FIG. 16, or an area of the newarea (not shown) independent from the previous program schedule (notshown). Alternatively, other information including the applied timer setproperty change information (content displayed on a predetermined lineamong those of the display area 131 as shown in FIG. 7) may bedisplayed.

Assuming that the generally employed previous program schedule includesthe program that has not been recorded in the HDD 46A or 46B, this isattributed in the fact that the program has been erased as the user hasalready watched the program, or the timer record setting of the programhas not been input owing to a predetermined condition. However, it isdifficult to identify the specific reason why the program has not beenrecorded, thus causing the problem. In the embodiment of the invention,the aforementioned problem may be solved as the program section havingthe timer set property changed is displayed as the area filled in black.

The user is capable of selecting (mouseover) the timer set propertychange program section so as to identify such program or how the timerset property has been changed. As the change in the “effective term” to“0”, for example, can be visually recognized, the user is allowed toconfirm that the condition of “no timer record setting” of the programcorrectly works.

In the example, the timer set property change program section isdisplayed to be filled in black, which is not limited to theabove-described form. An arbitrary display form may be employed so longas such program section differs from the recorded program section (alsodiffers from the selected program section nor un-selected programsection).

The timer set property change program section may be enclosed with a redframe (not shown).

A predetermined symbol or icon may be displayed in the timer setproperty change program section so as to indicate the information thatthe timer set property has been at least partially changed by the user.The symbol or icon may be varied differently depending on the changedtimer set property or the content of the change. Assuming that two casesexist, a first case where the “effective term” is changed to “0”, thatis, the program has not been recorded, and a second case where theprogram has been recorded while changing a predetermined timer setproperty, different symbols or icons may be used for the first and thesecond cases so as to be distinguished therebetween.

The use of the different symbols and icons makes it possible to displaya first program section including the symbol or the icon indicating thatrecording has not been performed resulting from changing the “effectiveterm” to “0”, and a second program section including another type ofsymbol or icon indicating that the program has been recorded and erasedthereafter simultaneously within the area 201 of the previous programschedule according to the invention. In this case, the user is allowedto easily distinguish the reason why the predetermined program has notbeen recorded in the HDD 46A or 46B, between the fact that the recordinghas not been performed and the fact that the program has been recordedand erased thereafter.

In the embodiment of the invention, the timer record setting of theprogram having the “effective term” changed to “0” is not input.However, the timer record setting of the program may be input so as tobe recorded. In this case, the recorded program having the “effectiveterm” changed to “0” is not displayed in the program section of theprevious program schedule but may be made reproduced by performing thespecial operation. Preferably, from the view of the recordable memoryspace of the HDD 46A or 46B, the recorded program having the “effectiveterm” changed to “0” is designed to be automatically erasedpreferentially after an elapse of a predetermined time period.

The content recording/reproducing device 1 to which the invention isapplied has been described.

The invention may take various forms without being limited to theexample shown in FIG. 1.

More specifically, the invention may be applied to the informationprocessing system as shown in FIG. 17. In other words, FIG. 17 shows theexemplary structure of the information processing system to which theinvention is applied.

In the information processing system shown in FIG. 17, a main controlunit 301, content recording units 303A and 303B are connected with oneanother via a network 302.

Referring to FIG. 17, the main control unit 301, content recording units303A and 303B have functions corresponding to those of the main controlunit 11, the content recording units 13A and 13B, respectively. The maincontrol unit 301, content recording units 303A and 303B have functionalstructures similar to those of the main control unit 11, contentrecording units 13A and 13B as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The main control unit 301, content recording units 303A and 303B have noneed to have the same hardware structures as those of the main controlunit 11, content recording units 13A and 13B. However, they may have thesame hardware structures. The main control unit 301 may be formed asshown in FIG. 2, and the content recording units 303A and 303B may beformed as shown in FIG. 3, for example.

Likewise the content recording units 13A and 13B which are referred toas the content recording unit 13 when they do not have to bedistinguished independently, the content recording units 303A and 303Bwill also be referred to as the content recording unit 303 if neededhereinafter.

In the case where the main control unit 11 and two content recordingunits 13 are stored in a single enclosure, the enclosure and the maincontrol unit 11 and two content recording units 13 constitute thecontent recording/reproducing device 1 as shown in FIG. 1.

In the case where each of the main control unit 11, and two contentrecording units 13 is provided at a different position as an independentunit like the main control unit 301, and two content recording unit 303,they may constitute the information processing system (partially) shownin FIG. 17.

If the system is defined to represent an entire apparatus formed of aplurality of processing portions and devices, FIGS. 1 and 17 representexamples of the information processing system to which the invention isapplied. The difference between the system shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 17resides in the enclosure that contains the respective units.

In the example shown in FIG. 17, two content recording units 303 areemployed. The number of the content recording unit 303, however, may beset to an arbitrary value in the same manner as the above-describedcontent recording unit 13 without being limited to the example shown inFIG. 17.

The network 302 is not limited to a particular form, however, it maytake the same form as that of the network 12 shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to the example of FIG. 17, the main control unit 301 isconnected to a network 304 different from the network 302. This mayallow the main control unit 301 to communicate with other unitsconnected to the network 304 with respect to various information data.In the example shown in FIG. 17, the main control unit 301 communicateswith a TV receiver 305, an AV (Audio and Visual) unit 306, and anexternal unit 307 with respect to the various information data via thenetwork 304, respectively.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the main control unit 11 (correctly thecommunication unit 29 shown in FIG. 2) may be connected to the networksimilar to the network 304 so as to communicate with the other devicesconnected thereto with respect to the various information data.

For the purpose of executing the above-described series of the processis executed by software, the program constituting the software isinstalled from the network or the recording medium into a computerinstalled in the exclusive hardware, or the one capable of executingvarious functions by installing various programs, for example, generalpurpose personal computer.

Besides the system body, the recording medium may be formed of not onlya removable recording medium 31 shown in FIG. 2 which stores the programsupplied to the user including a magnetic disk (floppy disk), an opticaldisk (including CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), and DVD (DigitalVersatile Disk)), a magnetic optical disk (MD(Mini-Disk)), and asemiconductor memory but also the ROM 29 or 42 that store the program asshown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the hard-disk contained in the memory unit28 or the HDD 56 shown in FIGS. 2 and 8, respectively.

In the example, the program (including video and audio signals) iscarried through radio transmission (airwaves), but it may be carriedthrough wire transmission like a cable TV broadcasting. The program inthe specification refers not only to the program broadcasted on theairwaves and satellite waves but also contents delivered through thenetwork, which has a wide concept. As described above, the program andthe content are used as the equivalent terms. In view of this, theprogram information is not limited to the EPG (Electronic Program Guide)information but may be the one about the program as described in thespecification (content) including the metadata of the general contentsand the like.

In the specification, step for writing the program to be recorded in therecording medium includes the process executed in chronological orderalong the described orders, or executed in parallel or individuallyrather than chronologically.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

1. An information processing system which serves to input a timer recordsetting of a content, comprising: a dividing unit that divides a firsttimer record setting to record a content delivered from a predeterminedsource for a predetermined period into a plurality of second timerrecord settings each designed to record the content correspondingthereto, which is expected to be delivered for the predetermined period;a change unit that determines whether the content corresponding to eachof the second timer record settings satisfies at least one of aplurality of predetermined conditions, and changes a predeterminedsetting of the second timer record setting to record the correspondingcontent which has been determined to satisfy the predetermined conditionusing a change process preliminarily correlated with the predeterminedcondition; and an input unit that inputs the second timer recordsettings to record the corresponding contents, respectively, includingthe second timer record setting having the changed predeterminedsetting.
 2. The information processing system according to claim 1,wherein a plurality of the predetermined conditions are provided towhich corresponding priority orders are assigned, respectively; and thechange unit determines whether the content corresponding to each of thesecond timer record settings satisfies at least one of the plurality ofpredetermined conditions, and changes the predetermined setting of thecontent corresponding to the second timer record setting which has beendetermined to satisfy the at least one of the predetermined conditionsusing a change process preliminarily correlated with the conditionassigned with the highest priority order among the at least one of thepredetermined conditions determined to be satisfied.
 3. The informationprocessing system according to claim 2, wherein: the change processpreliminarily correlated with the predetermined condition assigned withthe predetermined priority order among the plurality of predeterminedconditions is used to change a first setting for recording the contentthat satisfies the predetermined condition assigned with thepredetermined priority order to a second setting for inhibiting therecording thereof; and the input unit inhibits an input of the secondtimer record setting having the setting changed to the second settingthrough the change unit among the plurality of second timer recordsettings for recording the corresponding contents.
 4. The informationprocessing system according to claim 3, further comprising a set unitwhich sets at least one of the plurality of predetermined conditions,the priority orders respectively assigned to the plurality ofpredetermined conditions, and the change process correlated with theplurality of predetermined conditions upon a command of a user.
 5. Aninformation processing method of an information processing system forinputting a timer record setting of a content, the method comprising:dividing a first timer record setting to record the content deliveredfrom a predetermined source for a predetermined period into a pluralityof second timer record settings each designed to record the contentcorresponding thereto, which is expected to be delivered for thepredetermined period; determining whether the content corresponding toeach of the second timer record settings satisfies at least one of aplurality of predetermined conditions, and changing a predeterminedsetting of the second timer record setting to record the correspondingcontent which has been determined to satisfy the predetermined conditionusing a change process preliminarily correlated with the predeterminedcondition; and inputting the second timer record settings to record thecorresponding contents, respectively, including the second timer recordsetting having the changed predetermined setting.
 6. A programexecutable by a computer that controls a process of inputting a timerrecord setting of a content, the process comprising: dividing a firsttimer record setting to record the content delivered from apredetermined source for a predetermined period into a plurality ofsecond timer record settings each designed to record the contentcorresponding thereto, which is expected to be delivered for thepredetermined period; determining whether the content corresponding toeach of the second timer record settings satisfies at least one of aplurality of predetermined conditions, and changing a predeterminedsetting of the second timer record setting to record the correspondingcontent which has been determined to satisfy the predetermined conditionusing a change process preliminarily correlated with the predeterminedcondition; and inputting the second timer record settings to record thecorresponding contents, respectively, including the second timer recordsetting having the changed predetermined setting.